Bakeapple Gin

If you’re taking a stroll in Newfoundland, Canada, you may come across patches of strange, bulbous, bright-orange fruits. These are bakeapples, also known as cloudberries, and one company has taken the beloved Newfoundland fruit and distilled it into a gin. Along with notes of juniper and savory (a local herb), the gin offers the slightly sweet and citrusy flavor of bakeapples.

Each batch of the Newfoundland Distillery Company’s bakeapple gin begins with fruit that’s picked along the island’s Placentia Bay. Distilled in the classic method using copper pot stills, the soft gin also undergoes what co-owner Peter Wilkins calls double-dipping. “Normally, the distillation process removes all color compounds and essential oils, which is why many gins and vodkas are clear and have a clean, almost sterile taste. By double-dipping, we reintroduce some of those oils and colors.”

The result is a gin that retains the slight tint and flavor of bakeapple. When served on the rocks, the light orange gin can appear slightly cloudy, as these oils and compounds cool down. While it might be a little unfamiliar to see a cloudy gin, the spirit still goes down smooth.